Keanu Reeves Confirmed For 'Cowboy Bebop'
Filed under: Action, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Casting, Deals, 20th Century Fox, Comic/Superhero/Geek
If you were one of the many fans out there that was not loving the idea of Keanu Reeves remaking Cowboy Bebop; you might want to brace yourself. The Hollywood Reporter has announced that Twentieth Century Fox is officially bringing the beloved anime to the big screen with Reeves attached in the lead. Now if you are a fan of the original show, you can guess just who I'm talking about when I say the lead -- that's right; Reeves will play Spike Spiegel, the interstellar bounty hunter who is *Bebop was the story of a group of bounty hunters set in a time of interstellar travel and astral gates. When a lunar explosion decimated most of humanity, criminals were flung far and wide into the solar system -- enter the rag-tag crew of the Bebop to track them down. Peter Craig has already been tapped to write the script (who only has a few comedy shorts on his resume), but there is no word yet on who is going to direct.
Talk of a live action film has been floating around for a while now, but the press really started to take notice when Reeve's name was attached last summer. When Reeves spoke to MTV about the project earlier this year, most of us knew that the flick had gone well past the talking stage, and the idea of a 2010 release date suddenly didn't seem so unlikely.
So now that we have our Spike, sound off below and tell us who you would like to see fill out the rest of the crew of The Bebop.
*Correction: Spike was not top dog on the Bebop, that honor went to the ship's owner, Jet Black.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
1-16-2009 @ 2:30PM
Claire said...
and all I can hear is the Bebop fandom screaming in pain and horror......talk about a remake that will ultimately savagely butcher the original material, especially with its current star.
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1-16-2009 @ 2:40PM
Kaeli said...
Yikes.
I was hoping this was just another rumor, or speculation, but I guess I was mistaken. I'm not a big anime fangirl (I can count the number of anime series / movies I've seen on two hands), but I did watch Cowbow Bebop, and I liked it enough to own the series on DVD. It was a very well-executed story, and really showed how engaging and versatile the anime genre can be.
Casting aside... I'm guessing they'll probably do some sort of mid-series story (like the animated movie did)... it certainly can't be a sequel, and a prequel would be missing (my favorite character) Edward, and the ridiculously curvy Faye Valentine ... no studio would dare try that.
I'm just hoping that they don't try to emcompass the whole of the main plot arc of the series... it's way too big - a movie would just rush blindly through it. Two hours just isn't enough time to get an audience to connect with these characters the way 26 episodes did.
Oh well... at least I can hope beyond hope that Yoko Kanno will score the film, so at least I'll have more genius jazz-noise to look forward to.
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1-16-2009 @ 2:44PM
Kaeli said...
oh, I typed all that, and forgot the reason I really decided to comment in the first place!
Technically speaking, I'm pretty sure Spike isn't the 'captain' of the Bebop... that would be Jet Black, since he owns the ship.
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1-16-2009 @ 3:21PM
epinephrine said...
I think I'm in the minority, but I think if you were to adapt the overall story arc from the series into a trilogy, I think you could retain much of what made the show great.
I'd spend half of the first movie getting into the spike/julia/vicious back story and end it the final film in the same manner as the series. I think the series lends itself well to film because it's on the grittier side of sci-fi. If they gun for a special effects showcase, they'll surely miss the point.
Either way, I'm hopeful that it'll turn out well. If they're smart, they won't try to squeeze it into one film. As far as Keanu goes, I think he could play the part well. Spike was never exactly a dynamic character, wasn't one to show frequent emotion. I think Keanu can play cool, cold, and calculating as well as anyone you could get to attach to a live action anime adaptation.
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1-16-2009 @ 3:22PM
epinephrine said...
I just realized that I said "I think" far too often in that first paragraph slash run on sentence. Sorry about that.
1-16-2009 @ 3:43PM
Nova said...
Keanu is the absolute worst choice you could make. Spike was a cooler than cool character. Keanu is just a vacant stare with semi stiff movements when he does action scenes. (See Bill and Ted, and the Matrix) I know at some point a "I know kung-fu" line is going to come out and I'm going to want to throw up. I'll probably just skip this movie regardless of how much I like the show and I wouldn't be surprised if many people do the same.
There really is no actor that could live up to that character. You are much better off starting with a relative unknown. That way you could have an actor that could come across as just that awesome since there are no previous knowledge to throw the viewing audience off.
1-16-2009 @ 3:28PM
Kurotsurugi said...
I would like to see Vicious played by a japanese guy, simply because i haven't seen an American pull off white hair Ever! I would probably have to go with Rain for Vicious just because I know for a fact he knows english extremely well and his accent wouldn't take away from the film. Plus he's been trained to fight now because of ninja assassin, and might as well pick him up while he's got the momentum.
For Ed I would probably go with Ellen Paige from Juno. Yeah she's a little older, but she looks like she's 16, and she is nowhere near that age.
For Jet - I agree that Ron Perlman would be a good choice.
For Faye - I would go with....Hell i dont know who i would go with. I would want an actress with an attitude moreso than a pencil ****ing body like megan fox. I would probably go with Fann Wong from Shanghai Nights (plays jackie chans sister) or MORE SO - Maggie Q (Live free die hard, Balls of FUry) YOu know what. **** Fann WONG.....Maggie Q is the Faye i want to see. Sexy and brutal with tons of tude. Put that cast up and Im good
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1-16-2009 @ 4:04PM
Will B said...
Ron Perlman is too old to play Jet... (sorry, Ron)
You know who could pull of the voice, bionic arm, and hair (if he is willing)? Clive Owen
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1-16-2009 @ 4:29PM
filmsuki said...
Is it wishful thinking to hope that they'll retain Yoko Kanno as composer, or at least use jazz as the music of choice?
I hope the one-off character with the afro and coffin makes an appearance. :)
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1-16-2009 @ 4:54PM
Adam said...
I'm actually psyched about this. Keanu is Spike, and he cans do anything but rock this role. My concern is how is the studio gonna capture the feel of the Bebop whithout making "Serenity" all over again since "Firefly" was accused of borrowing heavily from Bebop. Perelman would kick ass as Jet, and Dakota Fanning would be great as Edward (hope I didn't spoil anything right there). Ein needs to be CG, and Angelina needs to be either Faye or Julia. Vicious should be played by Ed Norton or that guy from "Doomsday". Lastly, Bebop is the only Anime I've seen with multiple black characters, so at least one needs to be in the movie; Shaq as Abdul Hakim!!! That would be so pimp.
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1-16-2009 @ 11:42PM
Eric said...
Ok, seriously, Angelina Jolie does not need to play Julia or Faye. She would look good, but the lips would detract from all of that and as far as action scenes go, she did alright in Mr. and Mrs. Smith and Wanted, but nothing that I would see as Faye-worthy.
As for other cast ideas, I'm drawing a blank because this has made my soul cry...
1-17-2009 @ 1:22AM
Jessica said...
Whenever I watched, "Cowboy Bebop" I would picture Keanu as Spike. I personally look forward to this one. Please do a good job! This needs to out shine Dragonball Evolution.
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1-16-2009 @ 5:35PM
carg0 said...
does Cowboy Bebop even lend itself well to being compressed into a movie?
it's premise was simple, yes, but succeeded due to the complexity and depth surrounding the main characters. and that's not something you can just 'Americanize' in one 90min movie. not unless you plan to take some serious liberties, which they most likely will. but then you run the risk of alienating the diehards which, make no mistake, easily run in the millions.
just the idea alone comes across as patronizing, if you're a fan at least.
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1-16-2009 @ 5:51PM
Kurt said...
Nooooooooooooo! Why, God, why?
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1-16-2009 @ 7:07PM
Chrissy said...
@ Kurotsurugi ~ Maggie Q DOES NOT have the curves to play Faye = =''
She's a friggin stick.
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1-16-2009 @ 7:52PM
Viciously Angry said...
I'm beside myself with absolute rage at this casting choice. Casting some big name actor to play a part he doesn't fit can't be overlooked. Keanu Reeves is - barnone - the WORSE Choice that the production company could have made.
Honestly speaking, Cowboy Bebop is too large and expansive to turn into a feature length film. Not to mention, anyone playing half these characters are not going to live up to the fanbase's demands and expectations. Though, if I was going to choose an actress for the role of the intolerable Faye Valentine, I'm sure that any one of the unhealthily skinny women from Primetime Televeision would be more than happy to fill the vacancy.
As to the rest of the Cast, well let's just say that I know people in my personal life that would better fit the roles than any registered actor to date. Oh, and one more thing... Vicious better as hell have his 'Fine Feathered Friend' of a (Raven?) be CG'd.
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1-17-2009 @ 1:48AM
Nic said...
Yeah, I can relate with anyone that was not pleased with Keanu being cast as Spike, or simply with the fact that their making an american remake at all. But quite frankly I can't wait to see this done and it has made me want to go back and watch the anime again. There's been a lot of discussion (and I'm sure there'll be more) about who should play who, but I'm not going to get worked up too much about that because ultimately it's going to come down to who is going to direct this thing, and how well they can recreate everything about Cowboy Bebop. Anything short of that will be unacceptable. So, besides who should be cast, in my mind I'm wondering who should direct. AnimeNewsNetwork is stating that this movie is being developed in association with Sunrise and that the original director, Shinichiro Watanabe, will be an associate direct, alongside several of the original team. It would be really cool if Shinichiro Watanabe himself would direct, but I doubt Fox would allow that. But seeing that Sunrise is going to be closely supervising the development does kind of alleviate some of my worries and makes me look forward to seeing the finished product all the more. I doubt their going to want some big American studio to come and screw with such a beloved anime series. Especially because many Japanese fans are going to want to see how it turns out also.
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1-17-2009 @ 1:52AM
Nic said...
Oops. Meant to say Shinichiro Watanabe is going to be an associate producer.
1-17-2009 @ 7:05PM
Caroo said...
Gosh no... I just don't want it made. Not with Keanu Reeves, not with anyone. Who's gonna play Jet? And Faye? And Ed?! It's impossible. There's no way this is gonna be good
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1-17-2009 @ 4:46AM
ChibiXzaide said...
Dear God, kill it with fire!! I LOVE Cowboy Bebop...but casting Keanu Reeves as Spike!?? Did the casting director actually WATCH the anime?? Reeves can't act worth a damn, and he's so robotic! Spike is smooth and relaxed and 'like fluid'... Reeves is a stoney statue who recites his lines like an amateur.
Why oh why are you guaranteeing this movie's ultimate failure by making the worst casting choice possible for the lead role??
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